


down the waterfall

by harlequin87



Category: Rugby Union RPF
Genre: Angst, Gen, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22053985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harlequin87/pseuds/harlequin87
Summary: George just needs to get something off his chest.
Relationships: Sam Warburton & George North
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	down the waterfall

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from 'Angels' by Robbie Williams.

**2012 Six Nations**

“Hey, mate,” Sam said, holding the door open, “come in.”  
“Thanks,” George said shyly. He walked into his captain’s hotel room, awkwardly hovering between the bed and the chair by the desk.  
“Take the chair,” Sam said with a wave, noticing his discomfort. “There’s probably a rule against you being in my bed, anyway.” George laughed but didn’t make eye contact. His hands were twisting in the hem of his shirt.

Sam sighed. It was at times like these when he remembered just how young George was; on the pitch he could be mistaken for a grown man, but really not even out of his teens. “So what’s up, Georgie? How can I help?” Admittedly, Sam was only twenty-four, but those five years felt like a lifetime. Beyond his responsibilities as captain, he found himself often acting in a parental way to his younger teammate, looking out for him and stepping in before any teasing went too far.

The winger shuffled in his seat, still staring at the floor. “I don’t know where to start… It’s complicated.” He looked up at Sam with pleading eyes.  
“Okay,” Sam said. “How about you start at the beginning and we go from there?”

George nodded resolutely and, balling his hands into fists, started to talk. “I – promise you won’t tell anybody?” he asked quickly. Sam nodded and he continued, reassured. “So, I – I’m-” he sucked in a few deep breaths- “I’m gay.”

Sam schooled his face into a supportive smile, masking his shock. Sure enough, George flicked his eyes up for a split second to check his captain’s reaction. “Right, yeah, so. That, I guess,” he mumbled, digging his nails into his thighs. “Is it okay?” he asked in a small voice.

“Of course it is,” Sam said warmly, mentally berating himself for not having spoken up immediately. “Come here and have a hug.” Later he would blame his surprise for overriding his usual careful imposition of distance between himself and George. The teenager settled himself on the bed, curled into Sam’s side with his arm wrapped around his shoulders.

“It’s completely fine, mate,” Sam said, squeezing him closer. “Are you thinking of coming out, or…?” He felt the shake of George’s head against his side. “I mean, that’s fine too. Have you spoken to Gareth Thomas?”  
“Yeah, but in a him context, not in a me context, if that makes sense,” George said quietly.  
“Do you think that would help you? I can get his number off someone if you like.”  
“No, it’s fine. That’s not the issue.”

Sam frowned. “Is someone in the team being a dick? I’m really sorry if I hadn’t noticed: I didn’t think it was something I had to watch out for.”  
George snuggled closer. “No. I mean, someone on the team is a problem, but not in that way.”  
The furrows in Sam’s brow deepened. “What do you – oh!” He grinned. ‘Teasing brother’ was a role he knew how to play _very_ well. “Do you _like_ someone, Georgie?”

George looked up at him, pouting. “Yeah, I do.” He sighed. “That’s where it gets complicated.”  
“Can you tell me who it is?”  
“Not right now.” George rolled away to sit opposite him, and Sam somehow knew he’d screwed up.

“Okay. Talk to me. Let’s see if I can do anything to make it easier – short of setting you two up.”  
George let out another heavy sigh. “Again, complicated. He’s older, and I’m pretty sure he’s straight, and he thinks I’m just some stupid lovesick teenager.” The corner of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile. “I’m twenty next month, for starters.”

Sam hummed. “Well, if you think he’s straight… I don’t want to stereotype, but your gaydar is absolutely better than mine, so that’s unfortunate. I know it would be tough, but have you tried – asking him?”  
George huffed out a sigh and flopped despondently on the bed. Sam fought back a grin. The teenager couldn’t have looked more petulant and childish if he’d tried. “Sammy, I told you. He thinks I’m just a kid. We’re good friends, and he’d just laugh at me in the best-case scenario, and I don’t even want to think about the worst case.”

Ruffling George’s hair gently, Sam mulled over the problem. “Can you tell me who it is then, and I can try and find out if he likes you like that?”  
George rolled onto his front, burying his face in the sheets. “No,” he said, voice muffled. “No, you can’t.”  
Carefully, Sam laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Georgie, are you sure?”

The younger man sat up abruptly, and Sam was surprised to see that his eyes were wet with tears. “Yes, Sam. I’m sorry, but this isn’t helping.” His voice shook. “I’m going to go now. Please forget all about this, okay? See you later.” The winger had stood up and slipped out of the room before Sam had a chance to respond, leaving him alone and confused on the bed.

He lay down, resolving to come up with an answer to George’s problem, unaware that, four rooms over, his friend was doing exactly the same thing.

George yanked on his hair for the umpteenth time, not knowing whether to scream or cry. He’d gone to Sam’s room with one objective: to tell him about his crush on him. He’d nearly got there but bottled it at the last second. Now Sam knew every piece of information save the crucial one. Not only had the meeting been pointless, George was now in the dangerous state of having to trust someone with his most intimate secret. He couldn’t take back his words.

He growled in frustration and seized the paper and pen left on the bedside table.

_Dear Sam,_ he wrote, before balling up the piece of paper and grabbing a new one. _Dear_ was too familiar, too personal for the brutal truth he was revealing to his captain.

_Sam,_

_I’m sorry about earlier. I chickened out of saying it to your face, but it’s you. Not to sound dramatic, but it’s always been you. I spent half the World Cup awake at night thinking about you, and how good we could be together – your face, your body, your smile, your sense of humour – your everything._

_Again, I’m sorry. I think I’d deluded myself into thinking that if I just came out and told you, then somehow you would see the light and want to date me. Of course you don’t. Rachel seems lovely._

_I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable with all this. I hope we can still be friends._

_~~I love you~~ Sorry_

_George_

Angrily swiping away the tears dripping down his face, he folded the paper and set off to Sam’s room on unsteady legs. Double- and triple-checking the number, he bent down and pushed the note under the door. _Better out than in_ , he thought grimly, and walked back to his room.

Coming back to his room after a long meeting with Warren and the other coaches, Sam wouldn’t have noticed the paper on the floor if he hadn’t stumbled over it, the crackling noise catching his attention. He bent down to pick it up with a groan, knees protesting, and opened it. He instantly recognised George’s scrawled handwriting. Concern settled in his stomach. With the way their meeting had ended earlier, this couldn’t be good news.

He settled down on the bed, cross-legged as before, and slowly read the note.

_Shit._ This was awful. Obviously, there was nothing Sam could do about the situation – he’d been with Rachel for seven years, for God’s sake – but the very possibility of a captain-player relationship was throwing up red flags. He needed to find George, reassure him in his vulnerable state, but make it clear that nothing could ever happen. He didn’t know how to deal with teen heartbreak, especially when he was the one inflicting it. _Shit_ , he thought again.

“George? It’s me, Sam,” he called through the door, knocking twice. The winger hadn’t come down for dinner with the rest of the squad, his roommate Rhys telling everyone that he’d been feeling ill. Sam was instantly worried. To the other players, it would have just looked like a captain doing his duty and checking in on the baby of the team. He knew it would be much more difficult than that.

“Come on, Georgie. We need to talk about this.” The door swung open, revealing his teammate. His eyes were almost as red as the team kit scattered around the room. “Oh, mate,” he said, reaching out for a hug and immediately thinking better of it. “I’m sorry.”

George shrugged, the wobble in his voice betraying his nonchalance. “It’s fine,” he muttered, staring at the carpet and rubbing at the back of his neck. “I knew this would happen. I just had to shoot my shot and get it out my system.”  
Sam’s heart clenched. The younger man looked so defeated, diminished, even, curled up in a defensive ball on the bed. “I understand. But we both know that nothing can ever happen – for several reasons.”

George sniffed. “I know. I’m sorry,” he repeated.  
“We’re still good, though, mate?” Sam said anxiously. “Like, I still love you as a friend, and I want that to keep going.”  
The other man smiled through his tears. “Of course, Sammy. You mean so much to me.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. “I’ll move on, I promise. Friends, and that’s enough.”

Feeling as if his heart would break at the bleakness of his friend’s tone, Sam pulled him in for a hug. “Friends,” he murmured into George’s neck. “Love you, mate.”  
“Love you too, Sammy.”

They both pretended to ignore the bittersweet tears rolling down George’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't the fic I planned on finishing and posting today, but it just happened... I promise there is a happier work involving this pairing that I will be publishing in a few weeks.  
> I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos on, and commented on my works this year, and all the amazing writers in the fandom. You've made me laugh and cry and feel every emotion in between, and I'm really grateful to you all.
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading, and Happy New Year - I hope it's more fun than this fic!


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